Three of four who died in Cleveland house fire found inside home, chief says

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Four people, including two children ages 3 and 8, died Tuesday in a house fire in Cleveland's Collinwood neighborhood, fire officials said.

It's believed to be the deadliest in the city since 2009.

Cleveland Fire Chief Angelo Calvillo said three of the bodies were found inside the home some 14 hours after the fire. Firefighters are still searching for the fourth body.

Calvillo would not say which of the three had been found during a search made more difficult because of the intensity of the fire and the damage done to the home. Fire department spokesman Mike Norman later said that one adult and two children had been found.

"It's a sad day," Calvillo said. "We all have wives, children or loved ones. It's a huge loss."

Family members identified the victims as: Alfonso Lathan Jr., 46, his son, Alfonso Lathan III, 3, his granddaughter, Nyiah Lathan, 8. Alfonso Lathan's 44-year-old nephew also died in the fire. His identity, however, was unable to be immediately independently verified.

Alfonso Lathan's sister, Sharon Kemp, and her daughter Shalean Kemp identified the victims. Fire officials initially said Alfonso Lathan III was 4 years old and that his granddaughter was his daughter.

Alfonso Lathan's wife, Gianna Lathan, jumped out of a second-story window as the blaze raged. She is intubated but stable at MetroHealth, Cleveland Fire Department spokesman Mike Norman said.

Tuesday's fire is the deadliest fire in Cleveland since a Nov. 18, 2009 fire on Clark Avenue killed four people, including a 29-year-old man, 3-year-old twins and a 5-week-old girl, according to Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner records and Plain Dealer archives.

It's also the second fatal fire in Cleveland in three days. A Saturday night blaze killed 80-year-old Paul Thomas, a former Cleveland police officer, at his home in the city's Kamm's Corners neighborhood.

Tuesday's fire broke out about 1 a.m. at the Latham family's home on Hillview Avenue, north of Euclid Avenue in the city's Collinwood neighborhood.

A video taken by neighbor Fhero Williams and viewed by Cleveland.com shows the home completely engulfed in flames.

Gianna Lathan told fire officials that she and her husband awoke as smoke filled the house, Cleveland Fire Department spokesman Mike Norman said. The home did have smoke detectors, but they were not working at the time, Norman said.

The mother and father both tried to get to their children's rooms, but were unsuccessful, Norman said. Gianna Lathan jumped out of a second-story window, was taken to the Cleveland Clinic and flown by emergency helicopter to MetroHealth, Norman said.

Firefighters efforts were hindered because of the freezing temperatures and wind, which fueled the fire, Norman said.

"Some of the seasoned firefighters had never seen anything like this before," Norman said.

Part of the roof collapsed during the fire. The insides were completely charred, as was the front porch. It took some 38 firefighters about 90 minutes to extinguish the fire, Norman said.

The search for the bodies was delayed about 13 hours because of the extent of the damage.

First, firefighters pumped nine feet of water out of the basement.

Then they brought heavy construction equipment to strategically dismantle the home in order to make it safe to search for the body and to preserve evidence for the investigation into the cause of the fire, Norman said.

Firefighters eventually made their way inside and recovered the three bodies, Norman said.

Calvillo said that they will need to further dismantle part of the home in order to recover the fourth body.

The Ohio fire marshal brought an accelerant-sniffing dog as part of the investigation into the cause of the fire, which is typical in a fatal fire, Norman said. A fire marshal investigator led the dog around the porch and collected a sample of the ash and wood from the porch to be tested for accelerants.

A cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

Family members and neighbors praised the family as a tight-knit family that hosted sleepovers and get-togethers for their 8-year-old daughter and her neighborhood friends.

Alfonso Latham Sr. was a former RTA bus driver, who owned several homes and was a landlord, Sharon Kemp said.

"He was just a wonderful person," Sharon Kemp said. "They were a wonderful family. They were so supportive of everyone. I don't know what happened, but they didn't deserve this."